How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

After leaving the imperial palace, she headed to the downtown area. Since she still had some time until the appointed time, she was planning to stop by the shaman shop she had visited before.

 

She asked Bayan as soon as the carriage departed.

 

“Bayan, do you know where the key to the northern library is?”

 

While they were staying at the temple, Bayan wandered around the temple to eavesdrop on the priests’ conversations. Bayan tilted his small head as if recalling his memories.

 

[I think I heard that there is a drawer in the high priest’s office where the keys are kept.]

 

“Can you go over there and get me the keys?”

 

She took out the glass bottle she was carrying in her arms. The amount of sacred water contained within it was the same as before.

 

‘They said this could treat near-fatal injuries.’

 

However, it would not be able to cure diseases acquired through a curse. This only treated wounds and did not cure the disease. It didn’t work for Diane’s illness either. Then there was no reason to desperately save it. It would be better to use it little by little when necessary.

 

“I’ll give you some of this.”

 

[I get it.]

 

When told that he would give her sap, Bayan responded immediately without any hesitation. She opened the cap and took barely a drop onto her fingertip. Bayan licked her finger slightly.

 

“Shall I give you more?”

 

[This is enough.]

 

After a while they arrived at the downtown area. She arrived at a liquor store after passing through an unfamiliar street, but what greeted her was a tightly closed store door. It was written that the store would be closed for a few days.

 

‘I heard that the day I go is market day.’

 

Why would she have to close her business when she came looking for a magic book? The paper stuck in front of the door didn’t even say exactly how long the break would last. Has something happened to the owner? She was sure someone didn’t capture it, right?

 

‘Oh, no way.’

 

Even at first glance, the store owner she met last time did not look like a powerful shaman. If someone had kidnapped the owner, there would be no way they would have posted such a friendly note saying they would be closed.

 

‘Everything the owner of this store said about me back then was wrong.’

 

Who would bother kidnapping someone like that? But looking at the tightly closed door, she felt something uneasy. She returned to the carriage and held Bayan, who was looking out the window, in her arms. And then she returned to the front of the store again.

 

“How is it? Do you feel something strange?”

 

Bayan stuck his nose in the crack of the door, sniffed, and made a disgusted expression.

 

[Of course. It’s faint, but it’s full of all kinds of miscellaneous and crude things.]

 

 “Things related to witchcraft?”

 

[Yes. Although I don’t feel any particularly strong or evil energy.]

 

Anyway, they said they were selling real witchcraft supplies. Wasn’t this quite a quack? She turned and gave an order to the knight who followed her.

 

“Can you secretly find out in detail where the owner of this place has gone now and where he originally came from?”

 

Terence assigned her a bunch of knights and told me to order them whenever she needed anything.

 

“I understand, Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

 

So, without much success, she got back into the carriage. The next destination was the Grand Temple, as promised. After arriving at the temple, Bayan ran towards the main building where the high priest’s office was located. She went into the chapel as usual, prayed, and came out. When she checked the time, the promised time was just around the corner.

 

She asked the knight at the chapel entrance.

 

“Can I borrow some paper and a pen?”

 

The knight looked puzzled, but immediately went somewhere and brought back a small piece of stationery and a pen. Before she went to the library, she wrote a short note on a letterhead. It was to prepare for any unexpected disaster. She handed the small folded paper back to the knight and walked closer to him.

 

“I’m thinking of going to the basement of the North Library and reading books for two hours. This is a secret, so don’t tell anyone.”

 

“I understand, Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

 

“If you don’t come out after two hours, come find me. But you must never let the priests know that I have gone underground.”

 

The knight nodded his head with a rather solemn look. It seems like he thought it was something very important.

 

“Yes. Do not worry. Your Majesty the Grand Duchess.”

 

“If you don’t find me even after entering the basement, give this note to His Highness the Grand Duke.”

 

When Terence sees this, he would know what’s going on. However, if possible, she wanted to avoid having to pass this on to Terence. She was sure Terence would be angry if he saw that. After delivering the note and request, she finally went to the northern library. The garden path leading to the library was very quiet. They said it’s a closed area, but there didn’t seem to be anyone passing by here. She was walking along the road, and when she was about halfway there, Bayan spotted me from far away and came running.

 

Bayan was holding a small key in his mouth. She held Bayan in her arms again and brushed the white snow off his feet. Bayan dropped the key he was holding in his mouth into his hand.

 

[First, I brought the key to enter the library. It’s deep inside the drawer, so I don’t think it will be detected even if I don’t get it quickly.]

 

“Thank you.”

 

[The northern library is completely locked. There was no one inside at all.]

 

“Did you look around the library in the meantime?”

 

She thought he only went to the office in the main building. Bayan answered triumphantly.

 

[It’s easier to hide in the shadows.]

 

It seemed like he felt good after receiving the holy power. She asked in a low voice.

 

“What about Mikhail? Have you seen him?”

 

[The knight came alone. There was no one around.]

 

She nodded. She believed Mikhail would keep his promise, but it’s still better to check in advance. She finally headed to the library feeling relieved. Before entering the library, she passed through a small alley and approached the zelkova tree in the corner of the garden. Mikhail was waiting for her there.

 

“You are here, Your Highness.”

 

“Thank you for coming.”

 

She showed him the key Bayan brought.

 

“I brought you the keys.”

 

Mikhail seemed a little surprised to see the keys in her hand, but he didn’t ask how she got them. Mikhail led her behind the flower beds and garden trees next to the garden path. There was a small path behind a bush full of grass.

 

“It would be best to take this road to avoid the crowds.”

 

They walked along the small side road instead of the garden path and headed to the North Library. Mikhail looked carefully to see if anyone was passing by. Fortunately, there was no one wandering around.

 

“It’s quiet around here.”

 

“Because this is the road where servants walk.”

 

It seemed to be quiet because the servants didn’t have to go to the closed north library. After a while, a small two-story building appeared on the street corner. When she heard about the library, she thought it was an annex like a library in a mansion, but it was a much smaller building than that. The entrance to the building was tightly closed. They opened the door with the key and went inside. As soon as she entered the door, she saw a small library full of bookshelves. The library was smaller than it looked from the outside, and it was dark because the lights were off. The bookshelf and all the books inside were still the same, but there was a gloomy atmosphere, perhaps because it was a closed place.

 

“This way.”

 

Mikhail led her down a passageway to the basement. He was a little surprised the moment he came down to the basement. There was only a small library above, but in the basement there were corridors and rooms spreading out in all directions. Mikhail said after seeing her surprised.

 

“The basement is bigger here.”

 

As the saying went, the basement seemed to be several times larger than the library above. They went further down the stairs. As they went down, the light disappeared and only darkness remained. Mikhail groped somewhere on the wall and pulled out a small lantern. He adjusted it and skillfully turned on the light. Relying on that small fire, she went downstairs. After that, she walked for a while again along the winding hallway. Mikhail also seemed to be a bit lost as he searched through his memories. After walking for a while, Mikhail stopped in front of a small wooden door.

 

“Oh, this is definitely the place.”

 

She opened the old, crumbling wooden door. The wooden door opened with a creepy sound. A narrow, dark, small room appeared.

 

‘Here…’

 

There was nothing in the small room except a bookcase. There was a small wire mesh on the ceiling that looked like a vent, but it was covered in cobwebs and clogged with dust. She thought she might suffocate if she stayed here for too long. Fortunately, she didn’t feel like she was suffocating or the air was stuffy. When she looked inside, she was startled. The room was very small, but there was a large stone slab attached to the wooden door visible from the inside. The letters on the stone tablet were all erased and couldn’t be seen, but the size seemed so out of place with this place that it felt odd.

 

Mikhail searched through the bookshelf and pulled out an old book.

 

“It’s still there. This is the book I was talking about.”

 

She took the book he handed her. It was a very old, dusty book. It was surprising that young Michael had looked at something like this. She skimmed through the book, relying on Mikhail’s lamp. She was hopeful that it would contain important information about witchcraft. However, there were ‘spells to pray for good weather’, ‘spells to strengthen friendship’, and ‘spells to make good dreams’ written on them.

 

‘…Is this a witchcraft book for children?’

 

She thought she saw this absurd book when she was in elementary school in a previous life. 

It was a play book for young children. It’s even more surprising that there was real witchcraft in the midst of all this. There was also a ‘spell for happiness’ that Mikhail mentioned.

 

“After all, there’s nothing great, right?”

 

“I know. I’ll have to look for something else.”

 

She skimmed through that book and searched the shelves for other books. Mikhail was also looking at the bookshelf and looking for a book. But there was no significant harvest. There were a few books there that contained legends and folk tales, but even a cursory glance showed that the contents were useless. Meanwhile, Bayan was circling around the room and suddenly went out into the hallway.

 

“Bayan?”

 

She wanted to know why, so she followed Bayan outside.

 

“Your Majesty, why are you doing this?”

 

“The cat is acting strange. I have to go this way.”

 

They followed Bayan. Bayan walked down the hallway and opened the door. She passed the dog and entered the room at the end. This place had the same structure as the library they first visited. There was a large stone slab above the door in a small room, and there was a bookcase on one wall. Even the bookshelf here was empty.

 

Bayan stopped, looking at the wall next to the bookshelf.

 

[Here.]

 

“Hmm?”

 

[I can feel the sacred power stronger than other places.]

 

Holy power? She approached the wall where Bayan was standing. The entire library was made of solid stone walls made of stacked bricks. The moment she saw the bricks piled up, she unconsciously felt a sense of discomfort. A library near the temple of the fetish god. She suddenly remembered the library she went into to receive the sap of the sacred tree. There was a brick wall there too. Among them, there was one brick of a different color. That was the key to open the wall.

 

She clung to the wall and looked closely at the color of the bricks. Just like back then, there was a brick of a different color in the middle. When she carefully pushed with her hand, the brick that had been firmly fixed slid in smoothly. Around that brick, the surrounding bricks were pushed inward, leaving a space large enough for a book to fit into. And inside was an old black notebook.

 

“Your Highness, that is…”

 

She carefully picked up the book and turned the pages. As soon as she opened the first page, she saw a long text with a date.

 

“I guess it’s a diary.”

 

She didn’t know who wrote it, but it seemed very old. Bayan said while looking at the diary in her hand.

 

[I can feel the holy power there.]

 

It’s holy power. So, could it have been used by a saint? While thinking about that, she was about to open her diary.

 

Thud.

 

There was a sound of something moving in the ceiling.

 

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Translator Note: